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<title>The Disaster Twins Go To A Banquet (and meet Raiden) by Necro (Charlie_M)</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25514323">The Disaster Twins Go To A Banquet (and meet Raiden)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charlie_M/pseuds/Necro'>Necro (Charlie_M)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Disaster Twins [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Mortal Kombat (Video Games), Mortal Kombat - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Crack, Disaster Twins, Eldritch Powers, Family Dynamics, Fluff and Humor, Kid Fic, No Angst, No abuse, Quan Chi is tired, Unexpected Haircut, aggressive use of parentheses, blind vengeance au, cryptid children, indestructible children, no beta we die like men</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 06:09:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,694</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25514323</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charlie_M/pseuds/Necro</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Exactly what the title says. Quan Chi has to prepare the children for their first banquet. It goes both better and worse than he expects, as always.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Disaster Twins [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1701553</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Disaster Twins Go To A Banquet (and meet Raiden)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Quan Chi is busy in his lab, and therefore in a good mood. This is for a number of reasons.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One, being in his lab means he’s being productive, and even if his progress is halted by tricky spells or finicky potions, he enjoys a challenge. Most challenges. All but one challenge, really— two if one is splitting hairs, or eggs, as it were.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For another, being in the underbelly of the palace is invigorating. The echoing screams from the Flesh Pits, the distant moans and pleas from the dungeons, even the occasional test subject in his own laboratory. It’s a nostalgic return to what he knows after the tumultuous changes of this past year. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Those “changes” and (two) “challenges” are the main reason(s) that he is unfailingly in a good mood when he is in his labs. Because if he is down here, then that means Shang Tsung is not. He will be busy entertaining the twins, who are not allowed anywhere </span>
  <em>
    <span>near</span>
  </em>
  <span> the labs after their first and only visit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>(</span>
  <em>
    <span>“Look, a friend!” Nathan shouts. “Yummy!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What have you got in your mouth?!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Nathan’s mouth drops open and a spider the size of Quan Chi’s hand scrambles out and away, looking as terrified as a spider can.</span>
  </em>
  <span>)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unfortunately, Shang Tsung can only stand so much time with the twins, and they’re rather attached to Quan Chi besides, so he doesn’t get to enjoy his labs as much as he’d like. Twice a week usually, unless they create some sort of disaster that makes Shang Tsung swear homicide if they come near him for several days.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luckily, they’ve been somewhat well-behaved this week— meaning they’ve only set a handful of things (including themselves) on fire, no one’s dead, and the most expensive object they’ve broken is a portrait that Quan Chi didn’t even like. Quan Chi has been able to spend his time finishing the projects he started a few days prior. All is going well, his test subject is still alive, and he doesn’t have to split his attention three different ways to make sure nothing is destroyed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then he hears a giggle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Phoenix, what are you doing down here?” he asks, rounding an examination table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She leaps when his legs come into view around the corner, latching onto his calf and cackling madly. He doesn’t stumble, well used to this by now, but he does glance around for Nate. He’s not sure if it’s more or less alarming that he can’t even sense his nephew in the labs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nix?” he asks, arching an eyebrow. “Where is Nate and Shang Tsung?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She hums like she’s trying to remember. “Oh, right! Uncle Shang said there’s an important matter to disgust.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Discuss,” he corrects.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah!” she agrees, reaching for him. He scoops her up, settles her on his hip because as long as he’s holding her, she’s not touching anything in the lab. “He told me to come down ‘cuz Nate is playing with him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And gods only know how long it took her to get down here. It was a wise choice to send Nix down, because she’s the slightly more reliable twin, but that doesn’t preclude her from getting distracted or causing trouble along the way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Phoenix, is Shang Tsung still alive?” he demands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shrugs, a mannerism she’s learned only recently, which means she uses it as an answer to everything. “Maybe!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shang Tsung is, in fact, still alive when Quan Chi finds him trying unsuccessfully to wrangle Nathan in one of the parlors. Nix wriggles to get down, bolts almost before both feet are on the ground, and tackles her brother into a pile of floor cushions. It’s the most relieved Shang Tsung has ever looked to see anyone in their family.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There you are,” he says, turning to glare at Nix, “what took so long?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She glances up from apparently trying to smother Nate. “Time is a poor metric for the space between life and death.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Quan Chi sighs, a headache already forming. “What is so urgent?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shang Tsung fishes a scroll from somewhere and hands it over. Frowning, he takes it, scans over the royal decree, pauses, and then rereads it slower. Feels a tendril of familiar (or maybe </span>
  <em>
    <span>familial</span>
  </em>
  <span>) dread creep up his spine. He vainly attempts to consider his options, but already resigned to his fate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The days leading up to the banquet are chaotic, even by their usual standards.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The twins need to be fitted for formal attire, taught at least basic acceptable behavior for the event, and convinced that eating actual food won’t kill them. The second task is a lost cause long before Quan Chi makes an obligatory attempt at it— if passively sitting nearby while Shang Tsung curses could be considered an attempt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>(</span>
  <em>
    <span>“Don’t you dare use your hands!” Shang Tsung shouts. Nate promptly faceplants into his plate while Nix scoops something fleshy and ambiguous from her soup.)</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The fitting is an unexpectedly bigger failure. The twins get twitchy when strangers touch them, and since Quan Chi has made it clear that running isn’t an option, their response is… well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nate starts yelling when the tailor manhandles him into a jacket and doesn’t stop, not even for air. Nix (accidentally, for once) lights the seamstress’s skirt on fire in a fit of uncharacteristic shyness. After that, Quan Chi doesn’t bother trying to get them haircuts— he has to do it when they aren’t expecting it, and they certainly are when nosy event planners suggest it right in front of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The food is the only matter where they have moderate success, apart from the realization that Nix is quite allergic to what she decides is her favorite fruit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>(</span>
  <em>
    <span>“But it tastes like static,” she complains when he snatches it from her tiny hands.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He’s not familiar with allergies, he’s not sure if it’s serious, but he doesn’t want to find out.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Look, that one is blinking at you,” he says, privately relieved that it distracts her immediately, “eat that instead.”</span>
  </em>
  <span>)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The energy of the palace preparing for a large event infects the twins and makes even simple tasks into a calculated balance of risk and reward. Quan Chi tries to steer them clear of the preparations and the people responsible for them, who have already decided that his niece and nephew are the biggest hazards to their success. It’s true enough, but the man spearheading the arrangements seems new, and mistakenly believes that </span>
  <em>
    <span>micromanaging </span>
  </em>
  <span>them is the answer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Which means, unfortunately for everyone involved, that Quan Chi is dragged into it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Children, you’ll be seated here,” the man says, indicating a pair of seats far from anyone of importance, at the edges of the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The twins don’t even glance up from their lunch, chattering nonsensically between mouthfuls.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That won’t be acceptable,” Quan Chi sighs, nudging a plate of meat away from Nix. She hates the taste, even if she doesn’t seem to realize it, and her tutors won’t be able to handle her throwing up </span>
  <em>
    <span>again</span>
  </em>
  <span>. They’re still scarred from the first time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“E-Excuse me?” the man— Massac, he thinks— asks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They can’t sit alone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Surely they’re old enough…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They certainly should be. Technically they are. The twins can serve and feed themselves well enough, with some restraint, even, if given motivation and the best circumstances. But a banquet is already too much to expect from them, and Quan Chi is hard pressed to waste what few incentives he has to encourage good behavior. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Very well,” Quan Chi replies, already growing bored, “if you’re that intent on someone losing an eye.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It certainly won’t be Nix or Nate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Massac grimaces and begins scribbling at his seating chart while Quan Chi collects the children for their lessons.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The day of the event, Quan Chi’s day starts with Nix landing square on his chest, having apparently been knocked from the ceiling by Nate. She blinks down at him with bright eyes and a halo of hair that is…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He inhales deeply. Sits up. Nix slides down into his lap instead. Quan Chi manages a second look, inhales again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Phoenix, dear,” he says, calmly, “what happened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When?” she asks, then proceeds, “At the beginning of creation—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your hair,” he interrupts. “What happened to your hair?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!” She beams, shrugs. “I don’t know!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Quan Chi glances at Nate, but he also shrugs (lovely, he’s doing it too now) and mumbles something disconcerting about the “wrong mirror.” Nix, already bored by this matter, taps insistently at his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hungry,” she announces.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can’t be seen like this,” Quan Chi sighs, running a wary hand over her ruined hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There is very little of it that remains its usual pale lavender. There are stained splotches of what appears to be writing ink at the ends and over the back, a clump of blue near one ear. The roots on one side of her head are bleach-white, the other side is electric green like Nate’s eyes. What had been one uniform length to her shoulder blades has been hacked to jagged, irregular strands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But uncle, I’m so hungry I could eat the sun!” she protests. Quan Chi believes it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nate nods sagely. His hair, at least, only seems bed-messy. That’s only more suspicious and concerning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Very well.” He runs a hand down his face. “Let us get dressed, then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The dining room is, of course, occupied for once. Shang Tsung chokes on his wine when he sees Nix— well, at least they won’t have to go searching for him. Massac, looking ever busy, goes pale. Quan Chi sits the twins in their usual seats and then drops into his own, wishing he could have slept through this day.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell me there is something you can do about this,” he says to Shang Tsung by way of greeting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He snorts. “And why would </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> have a solution for </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Quan Chi levels him— and his glossy hair— with a flat look, even as he places a sweet roll into Nix’s grabby hands. Massac seems to be hyperventilating. Nate is staring at something over the man’s shoulder so intently that he almost spills juice down his own shirt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re the only other person she’ll tolerate touching her hair,” Quan Chi says, “but if you are incapable of fixing it…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shang Tsung sneers at the thin veil of manipulation. Still, he says, “I will see once I’ve finished my meal.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Surely that’s beneath you, my lord,” Massac pipes up, “I’d be happy to have one of my—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you know that your shadow is whispering?” Nix chirps, curious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If possible, the man pales further. Quan Chi shoves the sweet roll in her mouth and turns to his own meal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s salvageable,” Shang Tsung concludes an hour later.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It takes six different potions bottles, three breaks in which Nix runs so fast she goes straight through a wall, and the destruction of a pair of scissors. Even then, there is an inexplicable streak of black in Nix’s hair, now cut to brush the tops of her small shoulders. But she’s at least presentable again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And because the universe is sometimes merciful to Quan Chi, she doesn’t cry at the sudden drastic change in her appearance, though she doesn’t seem exactly pleased, either. Most of the rest of the day is spent on a fruitless attempt at expending some of the twins’ boundless energy without destroying anything. Changing them into the clothes made specially for the occasion is it’s own sort of ordeal, and they arrive at the venue a little later than he intended, but at least they’re there at all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The minute they enter the crowded banquet hall, the twins slip from his grasp and escape to cause trouble. Quan Chi gives it five minutes before someone learns the hard way that they’re essentially indestructible, then finds himself something to drink.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’s on his second glass when Nix runs into his legs. This is a sensation he’s become quite familiar with (at this point, he doubts anyone could knock him down in Kombat) so he adjusts his grip on his cup and glances down at his niece’s beaming face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re home base,” she explains when he asks what she’s doing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Home base?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” she explains, “we’re playing tag but we’re safe if we get to you first.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Quan Chi arches an eyebrow, about to ask why they need a “home base” now, when she and Nate usually play tag without.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There you are, you little brat!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nix squeals, more delighted than frightened as she ducks behind Quan Chi’s legs. The man that fails to grab her is none other than Reiko, one of Shao Khan’s best generals. He’s been away for the past year, and therefore has never met the twins before now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I see you’ve met my niece,” Quan Chi says.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reiko jerks back. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Niece</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aforementioned niece pokes her head out from behind his hip, cackling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The family resemblance is uncanny,” he deadpans, chugging the rest of his cup.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reiko slinks off with a curse and a dirty look. Nix steps out from her hiding spot, hand curled loosely in the fabric of Quan Chi’s pants. She’s too young to be smug— at least he thinks she is— but the grin she sends him is close enough to make him dread her teenage years.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Home base!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I see.” He snatches a full bottle of… something (alcoholic) off a servant’s tray. “Carry on, then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Giggling, she darts off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The party continues that way for about another hour, the twins running to him after harassing homicidal guests who don’t know any better until it’s almost too late. Not that Quan Chi believes they’d be successful in harming the children, but it does provide some entertainment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He should know better, though, when there’s a suspicious stretch of time (perhaps ten minutes) where he doesn’t see or hear any sign of them. But he hasn’t had them that long, so he hasn’t yet developed that keen sense for impending Disaster (Twins). He and Shang Tsung are procrastinating boredom by lightly antagonizing each other when Massac rushes up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I beg of you, control those </span>
  <em>
    <span>animals</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he says, having finally reached the upper limit of his sanity. He’s lasted longer than some people, though Quan Chi can’t say he’s impressed, either.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shang Tsung arches an eyebrow. The disheveled man is pointing up, up, up… to the chandelier. Where the twins are currently chasing each other with a balance just precarious enough to frighten the casual observer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Took longer than I expected,” Shang Tsung muses. He hands over a small handful of golden coins.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re out of the way,” Quan Chi says to Massac, “isn’t that what you wanted?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>They’re going to break it</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Undoubtedly. It became a casualty the minute they saw it earlier that week. He’s already ordered and paid for a new one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Someone always does,” he says, “I don’t see why they shouldn’t get a turn.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And before Massac can plead his case further</span>
  <em>
    <span>,</span>
  </em>
  <span> there’s a crunch, a crack. A large chunk of the chandelier breaks off and shatters on the head of a milling Shokan guest that no one pays much attention to. Quan Chi glances up again. Nate is hanging over the edge of the chandelier by his arms, his little legs swinging almost casually in the air. Nix is crouching in front of him, her eyes glowing and her smile a little too wide to be innocent.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He can’t hear what they’re saying, but from the way she’s gesturing, they must be playing the murder-and-vengeance game. It’s quite dramatic, occasionally even entertaining. He still doesn’t know where they get their lines from.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Something must be done,” Massac gasps.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I agree, their acting leaves much to be desired,” Shang Tsung says, mild.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Quiet,” Quan Chi snaps, “they seem to be reaching the climax.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nix stomps her foot dangerously close to Nate’s hand, making the whole chandelier shake. His grip seems to falter, fractured glass where one hand releases the frame— and then in a stunning twist, he grabs her ankle and yanks. Her head clips the edge as she falls, cracking </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> part off, and they both plummet to their presumable doom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Massac rushes over to assess the damage; Quan Chi and Shang Tsung follow at a more sedate pace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The twins are laughing when he finds them, evading the reaching hands of—</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Raiden,” Quan Chi says, “this is a surprise.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I sent him and Fujin an invitation,” Shang Tsung explains. “I thought it rude to exclude them from the festivities.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The thunder god narrows his eyes, straightening with a scowl. “Why are there children here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why do you </span>
  <em>
    <span>think</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Shang Tsung taunts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sighing (he can practically hear Massac’s brain melting out of his ears, how troublesome) Quan Chi scoops Nix up just as she swerves too close, swinging her up onto his hip. He conjures a glass of water and shoves it into her hands before she can try to wiggle away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Drink.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She takes it in both her small hands and sips as he catches Nate’s shoulder and drags him back. Raiden looks equal parts furious and flabbergasted, which in itself makes the twins worth all the trouble they’ve ever caused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>yours</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” he chokes out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My niece and nephew, Phoenix and Nathan,” Quan Chi says, ruffling glass shards from Nate’s dark green hair. “Children, say hello.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nate sticks his tongue out. Nix overturns her cup above his head— which should be empty, but instead dumps far more than its possible volume, plus a small fish. Shang Tsung jerks back to step to preserve his expensive shoes— not that it helps when Nate, now soaking wet, huffs and shakes himself off like a dog.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How is this possible?” Raiden demands. “Where did they come from?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I would think even </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> know where children come from,” Quan Chi replies.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“From Shang Tsung!” Nate chirps.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sorcerer splutters. “Absolutely not—” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nix turns her big, curious eyes on him while Raiden plows ahead with all his righteousness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is no place for children,” he declares. It’s not clear if he’s referring to the banquet or Shao Khan’s palace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In either case, Quan Chi rolls his eyes. “Babysitters are in shockingly short supply.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, any babysitters that could possibly manage the twins, at least. He’s tried. They still can’t use the eastern wing of the palace. Alas, his kids are too chthonic for something as convenient as a nanny or other similar caregiver. Quan Chi envies Shao Khan and Empress Sindel, who can foist Princess Kitana and their other adopted brats onto overpaid servants.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where are their parents?” Raiden asks, stubborn as ever.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Behind him, the servants are finally bringing out large platters of food. Quan Chi only notices because the children do. That is to say, Nate starts vibrating in place and Nix makes a trilling noise that her vocal cords shouldn’t be able to produce.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As entertaining as answering your inane questions would be—” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hungry!” Nathan shouts. “Starving!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ravenous!” Nix agrees, kicking one of her little legs out and nearly clocking her brother. “Famished!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, that,” Quan Chi sighs, setting her down before she starts drooling. Unsurprisingly, the twins dart off— though he’s gratified to see that they’re heading in the general direction of their assigned seats.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What</span>
  </em>
  <span> are they?” Raiden demands, sounding appropriately confused and resigned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Children.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The day following the banquet, the twins are unusually listless. Quan Chi would be worried, except it gives the servants an opportunity to clean up, and he’s able to get some actual work done.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He suspects it has something to do with the turns they took getting Raiden to activate his godly powers for their amusement. Their amusement, apparently, had consisted of being repeatedly electrocuted and then giggling in the thundergod’s horrified face. It appears that even their brains, such as they are, are not entirely immune to electricity.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Or perhaps being dogged and reprimanded by Massac all night had tired them out for once.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Either way, the children can only be bothered to bend the laws of reality and sanity a little today. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>(</span>
  <em>
    <span>Spiders of colors that are indescribable and nonexistent in this dimension are dotted around his office, but they only crawl across his documents intermittently. There is also something that apparently lives beneath the carpet in his office now, but it’s harmless as long as he feeds it once a day. It cleans up anything left on the floor when he leaves the room. Helpful for spilled ink and scrap parchment, less so for fallen books, pens, or trinkets.</span>
  </em>
  <span>)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Which is practically manageable for Quan Chi at this point.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And they keep falling asleep. First Nix, with a sweet roll still in her mouth at breakfast. Then Nate, mid-sentence as he’s babbling to Quan Chi about something to do with humming grass and whistling flowers and how clouds make sounds. He also falls asleep into his soup at lunch, followed by Nix as she’s trying to finish a cup of juice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They don’t ever doze off for long before startling themselves awake— usually by whatever impossible thing they’ve conjured. He even has hope that they’ll sleep through the night, instead of sneaking into his room to crouch on furniture and make unsettling clicking noises.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nate finally crawls into his lap about an hour before dinner. Nix has already fallen asleep in the lit fireplace, cradled in flames. Quan Chi shifts to accommodate him, waiting through his nephew’s wriggling and kicking until his heavy exhale signals that it’s safe to write again. It’s the most productive he’s been since getting them, yet he finds the silence oddly… lacking, almost uncomfortable without the twins giggling and roughhousing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When it’s time for dinner, he jostles Nate, hoping to wake him without losing anything important. The boy makes a sleepy noise, face scrunched up in sleepy confusion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s time to eat,” Quan Chi informs him, hoping a growling belly will rouse him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s for dinner?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We have to find out.” He nudges Nate to stand up before he can fall asleep again. He sways on his feet, rubs at his eyes, but he’s up at least. “Go get your sister.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, dad.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Quan Chi definitely does not show up to dinner looking misty-eyed and slightly constipated. He does, however, laugh somewhat hysterically when Nix accidentally calls Shang Tsung "mom" while she's trying not to faceplant into her dinner.</p><p>Back in Earthrealm, Raiden is having, like, three existential crises at once and reconsiders his pseudo-adoption of Liu Kang and Kung Lao. But at least he doesn't hear vague whispers whenever he looks at their eyes for too long.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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